Our sincere thanks
to LAUSD Board Members and district staff for recognizing
that the health and safety of our children, teachers, and
staff come first.

We would be remiss if we did not
extend additional appreciation to Board Members Julie
Korenstein and David Tokofsky for having the heart, courage,
and foresight to promote this policy when it was not popular
to do so.

For one year, district staff,
parents, community members, environmentalists, medical
experts, scientists, and Integrated Pest Management expert
William Currie met with district staff to create this
policy. The contributions of the following core team members
were key to the development of this IPM Policy.

Christina Graves, community
organizer from Pesticide Watch whose patience, diplomacy and
grace brought community and district together.

Dr. Kirk Murphy, whose medical
knowledge, foresight, and eloquence commanded respect from
all. The inclusion of the "precautionary principle" as well
as his ability to educate all members on the hormonal,
neurological and cancer risks associated with these products
are only a part of his major contributions to this effort.

Sandra Schubert, Esq. devoted
hundreds of volunteer hours sharing her knowledge of
environmental laws, codes, and legislation. Her insight was
enormously helpful in establishing a policy that would
ensure the health and safety of children, teachers, and
staff at all LAUSD sites.

Yvonne Gomez Nelson,
environmentalist and meticulous researcher who spent hours
sorting through thousands of district-generated documents.
Her significant detailed work assisted the community and
environmental groups in convincing the district that
least-toxic methods would pose less risk to human health.

Additional thanks to our brilliant
illustrator Michael Bruza for our beautiful logo and
artwork; our magical, creative Webmaster Don Thompson, and
the numerous individuals who signed our petitions and
telephoned the District on behalf of the IPM policy.

Mostly I wish to thank our children
for creating in us the gumption to write letters to board
members, principals and elected officials. Our children
unconditionally give us their cherubic smiles, wide eyes and
tender, loving hearts. When we look at them, we know we are
doing the right thing. We can rest assured that their school
and all LAUSD schools are cleaner and healthier as a result
of a great many dedicated individuals. We hope that you will
pass along the address of our web site, and we encourage
you to use this groundbreaking policy, which has become a
national and international model for school districts and
communities.